Alexandra Eala moved to a new career-high of No. 31 in the WTA rankings after her run to the quarterfinals at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai. The 20-year-old rose from No. 47 and recorded her third Top 10 victory, defeating Jasmine Paolini, before bowing out to Coco Gauff.

Eala surpassed the career-best No. 40 she set two weeks earlier following a quarterfinal appearance in Abu Dhabi. She remains the only woman from the Philippines to reach the WTA Top 100 since the rankings began in 1975 and now stands on the edge of the Top 30 after climbing more than 100 places in the last year.

A year ago she was ranked No. 139, and she entered the 2025 Miami Open at No. 140. Her breakthrough semifinal run at that WTA 1000 event produced her first two Top 10 wins, over Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek, and pushed her to No. 75 for a historic Top 100 debut. She then moved into the Top 50 last November and into the Top 40 after Abu Dhabi, and this Dubai result continues that upward momentum.

The powerful left-hander has reached the quarterfinals or better at WTA events six times over the past 11 months. The first three deep runs came last year: semifinals in Miami (WTA 1000), the final at Eastbourne (WTA 250) and a quarterfinal at Sao Paulo (WTA 250). This season has already produced three more: a semifinal in Auckland (WTA 250), a quarterfinal in Abu Dhabi (WTA 500) and now the quarterfinal in Dubai (WTA 1000).

After her victory over Paolini in Dubai last week, Eala talked about the things she’s learned since she burst into prominence in Miami.

“As the Miami anniversary comes up, I would be coming up on one year of full, really full, just, WTA tournaments. I think that comes with a lot of learnings, a lot of maturity. Especially this past year, 2026, has brought me a lot of love and attention from the fans. It comes with its set of struggles and set of sacrifices, but I think in the end I need to remind myself this is what I’ve been working my whole life for. How many people would love to be in my position? I make it a point every day to really give my all and be grateful for what I have.”

She was then asked about her many, many, many fans. “I saw the stadium was really full. I looked up and there were Filipinos for days!” she described. “It’s really such a blessing to be able to play in those sorts of atmospheres. I am really privileged and thankful that I’m able to introduce kind of this new world, or new sporting world, women’s tennis, to a new demographic. I think they’re really enjoying it. I hope that it would inspire people to take up racquets, young girls and women of all ages to take up sports.”

Janice Tjen climbed into the WTA Top 40 on Monday, moving from No. 46 to No. 36 after reaching the round of 16 at the Dubai WTA 1000 event. The 23-year-old is the first Indonesian woman to sit inside the Top 40 since Yayuk Basuki was No. 35 during the two weeks of the 1998 US Open, the weeks of August 31 and September 7.

Three weeks earlier Tjen had marked her Top 50 debut, rising from No. 59 to No. 47 after a second-round showing at the Australian Open. Her progression this season has been steep. On this day a year ago, Tjen was ranked No. 391. She only just started playing at tour-level at the end of last summer.

Tjen made her first tour-level main draw at the US Open, where she reached the second round. In the weeks that followed she reached her first WTA final in Sao Paulo and then captured her first WTA title in Chennai. Last week she reached the round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event in Dubai for the first time in her career, eventually falling to Amanda Anisimova.

Those results have included wins over established opponents. She already has four career victories against Top 30 players: No. 25 Veronika Kudermetova at last year’s US Open; No. 23 Leylah Fernandez at the Australian Open; a No. 29-ranked Maya Joint in Abu Dhabi; and the No. 29-ranked Fernandez again in Dubai. If those wins are a guide, further climbs up the rankings may follow.

Tjen is back in competition this week at the WTA 500 event in Merida, where she is the No. 6 seed. She will meet former Top 40 player Camila Osorio in a first-time meeting in the first round.

“0 my friend. Dubai is pending.”

Those words from Jessica Pegula came after a social media post highlighted her steady results as she reached a seventh consecutive semifinal dating back to the 2025 US Open earlier this week. The Buffalo, N.Y. native had acknowledged the run had not produced the trophy she wanted. That changed on Saturday in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final.

After surviving two earlier matches that went the distance, Pegula produced a clearer performance in the title match, beating seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 in 63 minutes. The world No. 5 dropped serve only once and claimed 73 percent of her points at the line to close out the victory.

“It’s a great birthday present for me. Just super happy to go home with a trophy,” she said during the trophy presentation.

Pegula, 31, who turns 32 on Tuesday, now has 10 career WTA titles. Four of those titles are at the WTA 1000 level, and this was her first 1000-level win away from North American hard courts. The 31-year-old has won 13 of 15 matches to open her 2026 season and remains on Coco Gauff’s heels to be the No. 1-ranked American.

Svitolina, seeded seventh in the event, likewise arrived at Dubai with strong form. She departs the tournament with a 15-3 start to the year that included a title in Auckland and three subsequent Top 10 victories.

“Unfortunately didn’t find the ways to put her off balance. I think she played a wonderful match,” the Ukrainian said in press. “She was striking the ball perfect. Played really solid match. ]

© 2026 Robert Prange